


What Do We Do Now?

by Serlenia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Needed to get ideas out of my mind, Short Chapters, This is my fun fic when not working on other time travel fic, Time Travel, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24713902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serlenia/pseuds/Serlenia
Summary: Steven, Lars, and Sadie get stuck in the past. How does this go over when they meet their past selves?
Comments: 54
Kudos: 255





	1. Lars Stresses Steven Out

**Author's Note:**

> This will have short chapters with maybe the occasional long chapter. I decided to not find a beta since this is just a fun story for me to work on when I need a break from my other story.   
> This idea has been in my head for a while and I needed to write it out so I figured I would share. Not worrying about chapter length or characters being in character. I will do my best to keep everyone in character but I'm not going to agonize over it. 
> 
> This was originally going to be a one-shot story or a fanfic with multiple different one-shots on time travel, but as I wrote this out I realized that I'd like to keep going and see where this goes. 
> 
> I will say I just wrote this at 3am and I'm tired so I apologize for any really bad grammar mistakes.

The beach was quiet while the gems and Steven were at the barn. A loud buzzing sound could be heard somewhere in the air, it increased in sound as the minutes passed by. No one was around to hear it.

Finally, the buzzing cut off, and a yellow portal opened up above the water. Three humans fell out, heading for the water below before a pink bubble encased the three of them. The bubble splashed and fell below the water before rising to the top and disappearing. The humans fell into the water and began to swim ashore.

“What just happened!” Sadie asked, freaking out as they reached the shore.

“Are you two okay?” Steven asked, not meaning to ignore Sadie’s question but he wanted to make sure they weren’t harmed by what just happened.

“Dude, I’m pretty sure something like this won’t kill me,” Lars said, wringing out his hair.

“Sadie?” Steven asked.

Sadie took a deep breath. “I’m fine, but seriously what just happened guys?”

Steven and Lars looked at each other. Steven spoke up, “Honestly, that was weird even for me. I know Emerald has had it out for Lars because he stole her ship. That… device that she used on us… I’ve never seen it before and after the incident with Spinel I made sure I was familiar with any devices made by the gems.” He said.

Lars nodded, “Yeah, she has a grudge but Steven is right. No one recognized that device before she used it.”

The three had been at a beach party that Steven was holding for gems to come and socialize with humans. The cool kids, Sadie, and Shep had come to hang out with other gems from Little Homeworld. Others had joined the party as well and it has been going great until Emerald showed up. She hadn’t cared about Steven or the Earth, but she had wanted Lars to step forward. When an argument between the two ensured she had pulled out the device and pointed it at a random human which happened to be Sadie. All the gems had started murmuring in confusion and the humans had tensed up, not knowing what Emerald meant to do with the device. Of course, this caused Lars to rush forward and Steven to jump in front of Sadie, and before they knew it a bright light had encased them and they were falling into the ocean.

“I’m hoping the others are dealing with her now. We gotta figure out where we are. This looks like the beach…” Steven said, trailing off when he glanced over towards the cliff and saw his house. Except it wasn’t his house, at least not the one he had left behind.

“Um, guys... Are you seeing this?” Steven asked, blinking up at his old house which was missing all the improvements Bismuth had added to it.

Sadie had seen the house and began to look towards the city, noticing the missing towers from Little Homeworld and seeing no gems walking on the boardwalk.

“Yeah, I think we are seeing what you’re seeing,” Lars said as he stared in shock at his old hometown.

“What do we do?” Sadie asked. They were all wet from the ocean and it seemed like their homes weren’t their homes anymore. She wanted to ask why Steven couldn’t have rolled them onto dry land first, but they had enough to worry about without her complaining.

“Um…” Steven started, bringing a hand to his chin. “Uh… we should probably talk to the crystal gems. That will help us figure out if we are in an alternate world or the past or something else.” Steven told them.

“Shit, I didn’t even think of an alternate world. Could that actually be a possibility? I thought it was complicated enough when it was time travel.” Lars said, running a hand through his hair.

“Language,” Steven murmured as he thought.

Lars snorted and looked at Sadie who giggled back.

“Well, the gems didn’t come running out and neither did I so that means we are on a mission. Or the gems are on a mission and I’m in town…” Steven explained.

“Great, let's go to town then,” Lars said and started walking toward where their old work should be.

Steven stared at Lars in shock for a moment before he gasped and started catching up.

Sadie had already started walking alongside Lars. This might not be the best idea but they didn’t exactly have a lot of choices.

“Wait! Lars, we can’t just walk into town looking like older versions of ourselves!” Steven exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Lars scoffed, “Oh come on! Do you have any better ideas?” he asked. “It’ll be fine.”

Steven’s cheeks lit up pink as he followed behind them. He didn’t agree with this at all. They didn’t know what would happen if they came into contact with themselves. He realized he sounded like Pearl, but this was serious.

“Man, when did you turn into such a worrywart.” Lars teased, trying to break up the tension building up in Steven.

Steven looked at him and frowned. “I didn’t, but this is a little more serious from what we dealt with in the past. What if, by looking at yourself or coming into contact with yourself, you disappear and cease to exist? What if we change the future? What if this is an alternate reality and we are all evil here!” Steven said, getting louder with each question.

Sadie and Lars stopped to stare at Steven and this time he blushed a normal pink at their stares.

Sadie giggled into her hand as Lars laughed along with her. “Okay, I admit those first two are a concern, but I think you lost both of us at the alternate world one.”

Steven rolled his eyes. “Fine whatever. Let’s ruin the timestream.” He said crossing his arms.

"Aw, don't be like that Steven," Sadie said, falling behind to put her arm around his shoulders. 

"You did say we should talk to the gems. Why would it hurt more to talk to people in town?" Lars asked.

"Well, for one, the gems are used to weird. I don't think many people are ready for this kind of weird." Steven told them. "How do you think your younger selves will act when they see you?" he asked.

That made the two of them pause. "Well, I believe it would depend on how far back we went," Sadie said.

"Would it make you feel better if we scope out the inside of the Big Donut from the windows?" Lars asked.

Steven brightened up at this question, "Yes!" he exclaimed.

"I think we can do that. What do you think Sadie?" Lars asked.

"Of course! It's actually a pretty good idea just in case we are way back in the past." Sadie told them.

Steven let out a sigh of relief. At least this idea was a little better from just barging into the Big Donut and potentially freaking out Lars and Sadie's past selves.


	2. Blast from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lars and Sadie see their past selves. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lars has a potty mouth and no one can convince me otherwise lol. In other words, strong language ahead in this chapter. I realized I never rated this fic, so I fixed that.

They didn’t run into anyone they knew on the way to the Big Donut. It looked like it was somewhat early, before the afternoon.

When they got closer, they all slowed down and approached the building from the side so they could peak into the windows. All three of them leaned over to check out the inside.

“Hmm,” Sadie thought as she watched her younger self and the younger Lars work. “I… can’t really tell how far back we went.”

“Wait! I got it.” Lars said and he jogged back the other way and stopped at a machine by another store. He ran back, smiling. “Hah! I knew it, the machine to get newspapers is still over there. Never noticed it before until I got back from space.” He said, smirking. Lars told the two the date he saw.

“Oh! So, I’m already fourteen now. And Sadie! I think this is after the Beach-A-Palooza event where you tried to participate.” Steven said thinking.

“Oh yeah, I think you’re right,” Sadie said as she peeked at her younger self again.

“That means… I’m either trying to be friends with Peridot right now or I’m trying to convince Lapis to live with Peridot. Ugh, I never paid attention to the date when I was younger!” Steven said, frustrated. It was nice to have an idea of what was happening, but it would have been better to have a solid idea because the cluster could still be a problem right now. It wouldn’t be good to interrupt that.

“Pft, you lived like a wild child Steven. It’s not surprising that you didn’t keep track of days. You didn’t have a reason to.” Lars teased Steven, ruffling his hair.

“Lars!” Steven said, trying to complain but his smile gave himself away as he fixed his hair.

“So, what’s the plan then?” Sadie asked.

“Well, either way, the gems and I will be at the barn right now. So lets-“ Steven started but stopped when he noticed someone behind Sadie.

“Steven?” a younger Sadie asked, looking at the group in shock and confusion.

Lars and Sadie jumped and turned around to face Sadie’s younger self.

Past Sadie looked at her older self and the pink Lars in shock. Then she looked back at an older looking Steven. “Wh- What is this?” she asked. She was used to weird around Steven by now, but this? This was way past weird.

Steven’s eyes widened. “Sadie! Um, would you believe it’s time travel?” he asked nervously.

The younger Sadie stared blankly at him and then looked back at her older self. She heaved a sigh and rubbed her face. “Seriously?” she asked.

“I know it sounds crazy… okay, it _is_ crazy. But it’s true! I mean, my younger self can’t make copies of people if that’s what you’re thinking of.” Steven said, rambling.

Past Sadie looked at him, “Okay… I can believe that you’re Steven. And no, that’s not what I was thinking. I know you have weird stuff that happens Steven, but this is beyond weird.” She explained.

Sadie decided to step in now. “Would you mind if I come up to you and I can tell you some things that only we would know?” she asked her younger self. Hopefully, it would remind her of some of the movies they watched in their teens.

Her younger self smiled, “Like the movies…” she murmured, thinking, “Okay, sure.” She responded, acting more confident than she actually was. If that was Steven, and she was pretty sure it was him, then she would be okay. 

Sadie smiled and walked up to her younger self carefully. She gave her younger self time to back away if she wanted to. When the younger Sadie stayed, she leaned in and whispered something into her ear.

Her younger self blushed and drew back after Sadie was done. “Okay, yep. You’re definitely me. I never told _anyone_ that!” she said, embarrassed.

Sadie backed off too, also blushing. It wasn’t her favorite memory but it was one she would take to the grave. So, her younger self would know without a doubt that she was at least some version of herself.

“Okayyy, then. Do we have that settled?” Lars asked, although he was curious about Sadie’s secret he knew they had more important things to do.

Sadie’s face was still red but she nodded her head, “Yeah, I think so.” She said.

“Wait! Are you guys going somewhere?” Past Sadie asked them.

“Uh… yeah. We figured out how far we went back and we are going to talk to the gems.” Steven told her.

“Oh… well, can I ask one question?” Past Sadie asked.

Lars wanted to be sarcastic by pointing out she already asked a question, but he held himself back. It wasn’t the time to tease Sadie’s past self, especially with the present one standing within hitting distance.

“You can, but we might not be able to answer it,” Steven told her.

“Why is Lars pink? And why does he look like a pirate?” Past Sadie asked them.

Lars startled when he heard his name and frowned. He had forgotten that he wore his captain’s outfit on the off colors’ request for the party. He didn’t think that was a question any of them should answer though. He looked at Steven who shook his head also frowning.

Sadie’s younger self watched their reaction and could tell it was a touchy subject. “You know what, that’s okay! I can tell you are going to say no anyway.” She said, faking a smile.

All three of them breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Lars was glad that Steven held them back from just storming into the Big Donut. He knew he was a jerk in the past and would bug the crap out of all of them to figure out why his future self was pink. That was if his past self ever believed they were from the past and not some freaky magic trick.

“Okay, well we better for before your Lars comes out. I can’t see him taking any of this well.” Sadie told her past self with Lars nodding next to her.

“Yeah, that’s putting it mildly. I was an ass back then.” He said.

Steven looked at him, scandalized before he shook his head. It was a battle long fought that he would never win. Lars had gotten better though so he counted that as a win.

Past Sadie laughed at that, “Well, at least you’ve realized that in the future. I guess there’s hope.” She said.

Sadie smiled knowingly at her. Her past self was in for some surprises, that’s for sure. She was almost surprised that she hadn’t been asked about her appearance, but Lars did kind of steal the spotlight by being pink. She remembered her crush from back then too. Of course, her past self would be concerned about her crush.

They were just about to part ways when another person came around the corner.

“Sadie, what the heck? You can’t just leave me with all the work! That’s my job.” Past Lars yelled as he reached the group and really looked at who she was talking to. “What the fuck?” he said, shocked.

The future group all groaned. Well, so much for getting out of here before Past Lars came out.

Lars tried to stand back, behind Sadie and Steven but he watched his past self zero in on him.

“Is this some kind of new freaky magic shit?” Lars asked as he glared at his older self and Steven.

“Jeesh, Lars language! You’re still on the clock.” Sadie scolded him.

Lars scoffed, “So, what? It’s just Steven and whatever the hell that is. No one else is around.”

“We were just going,” Steven said and motioned for the other two to start backing up. Maybe they could just run and deal with this later. Although, he felt bad because Past Sadie would be the one to deal with him.

“Hey now! You can’t just leave with a pink version of myself! What’s going on?” Past Lars asked, getting irritated now.

Lars sighed and ran a hand through his pink hair. Well, he did figure this would be the outcome. “Dude, I’m _you_ from the future.” He said and winced, knowing his past self wouldn’t take it well and he was right.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now! No. No way. I’ve accepted a lot of weird shit from Steven but this is too much.” Lars said shaking his head as he turned to stare down Steven now.

Steven held up his hands, trying to keep the piece but before he could defend himself and the other two, Past Sadie spoke up.

“Lars! Enough. They are from the future. We know Steven can’t hold s different shape for this long. We saw it if you were even paying attention on Steven’s birthday. Plus, I can speak for that Sadie because she knew something absolutely no one else would know. Trust me.” She said, hoping like heck that Lars would just trust her for once. Like on the island.

Past Lars turned around sharply to look at her, searching her face. He frowned and grumbled, “Ugh, fine! Whatever, I want nothing to do with this freaky shit.” He said angrily. “I’ll be in the back.” He finished before storming off.

Everyone relaxed as he left.

“Well, that went better than I thought,” Lars said, shrugging.

Everyone else just stared at him in disbelief.

“What?” Lars asked.

“Well, I wouldn’t call that good,” Steven said, explaining everyone’s reactions.

Lars laughed, “Yeah, most wouldn’t but trust me when I say that could’ve gone wayyy worse. He could’ve demanded to know more about me and I know myself. He wouldn’t have let it go if he wanted to know.” Lars explained.

“Well, that’s true,” Sadie said nodding. “Even if you were a jerk, you were a determined jerk.” She said.

“I don’t know if I should be insulted or not,” Lars said, deadpan.

Past Sadie laughed at their interaction and smiled. “Well, it’s good to see I’ll be able to hold an actual conversation with you eventually Lars. I better head back before we both get fired.” She told them and jogged back to the entrance.

The future group waved at her as she left. Sadie and Lars smiling after her. It took a lot of bad situations and growth from both of them, but yeah, they had a good relationship now.

“All right! We need to get going.” Steven told them.

Both Lars and Sadie agreed and they made their way to a warp pad that would take them closer to the barn. They landed on a new warp pad a couple miles away from their destination and began to walk to their destination. After walking about half a mile, Steven stopped.

Both of them stopped as well, looking back at Steven confused.

“Are you okay?” Sadie asked.

“You guys… if we changed the past… wouldn’t we remember the changes we made?” Steven asked them. “Like, wouldn’t you guys remember meeting your future selves? _Do_ you remember?” he continued.

Lars and Sadie looked at each other and searched their brains, but neither of them held that memory. They told Steven so.

“What does it mean?” Sadie asked.

Steven shrugged, “I dunno… maybe we are in an alternate world that is just really similar to ours? Maybe the changes we make while we are here split off into a new world that doesn’t affect us?” Steven thought out loud.

“I got nothing,” Lars said, shrugging. He was trying not to be too concerned about what this meant for them. Being worried and afraid wouldn’t help the situation they were in right now.

Steven frowned for a moment.

“Well, standing here isn’t going to fix anything. Let’s just get to the gems and they can help us, right Steven?” she asked him.

Steven forced himself to smile, “Yeah… they should be able to help…” he said.

Lars and Sadie could tell he was still worried and honestly, they couldn’t blame him. Both of them were nervous and worried too. They would hopefully have time to freak out later after they figured out what was happening.

They continued their journey towards the barn and came to a stop when they noticed a Ruby ship nearby.

“Ohhhh….” Steven said, smiling. “I know what’s going on now.”

Lars and Sadie looked at him. “Okay, care to share hero?” Lars asked him, raising an eyebrow.

Steven blushed at the nickname and cleared his throat, “Rubys came looking for Jasper at some point and we were figuring out how to get them to go away or capture them. We ended up playing baseball and lying to them about where Jasper was. We told them she was on another planet.” He said smirking, remember the whole thing. It ended up being pretty silly.

However, he frowned when he remembered what happened after that, but he shook his head. No time to dwell on that.

Lars and Sadie still looked confused after the explanation and were concerned when they noticed the drop in his mood afterward.

Sadie laid a hand on Steven’s shoulder, “Let’s go check it out? We should be able to get closer without being noticed, right?” she asked, trying to distract Steven.

Lars and Sadie looked over him at each other. Steven had been concerning them even before all this. He had trapped them all in a bubble after all and admitted he felt like everyone was leaving him and he’d miss them. It had felt a lot more than him just missing them though. At the time they had brushed it off because they each had a lot going on. They had talked to each other about finding him at the party later and sitting down to talk with him. It seemed like he wasn’t talking to anyone else. Steven had done a lot for them, so maybe they could return the favor?

Steven took a deep breath and smiled at Sadie, “Right. Sounds like a good plan to me. Do you agree captain Lars?” he asked, teasing Lars.

Lars scoffed, “Of course! I never back down from a challenge,” he said and made a dramatic pose.

Sadie and Steven brought down into a fit of giggles at the action while Lars pretended to be offended. It was a nice little break for a moment.

After they calmed down, they all got serious again. Steven wanted to make sure they didn’t mess with the timeline any more than they already had. At least, not until they talk to Garnet. Garnet should be able to help them figure out what to do next.

The crept closer to the barn just in time to see a group of rubies run into the ship before disappearing back into space.

They looked at each other. Steven looked more nervous than before. He was afraid of what could go wrong during this, but he was trying to be optimistic. The other two waited for Steven’s cue. This was his family so he should be in charge of how this goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think past Lars actually gave up? Hmm, I wonder...


	3. To Tell or Not To Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, not really short but I was on a roll lol
> 
> It's kind of fun to just have a story where I'm not so worried about grammar or having everyone perfectly in character. :)  
> I love my other story of course and I enjoy writing it, but this is just like a little break from all the formalities of that story.
> 
> I do feel like my Lars is going rogue though, but I can't say I hate it XD. He's not completely out of character or anything but just... maybeee a little nicer than canon? I dunno. Trying to work with the personality he had while in space and his personality from SUF. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

Steven took a deep breath and nodded to them. They continued towards the barn with Steven leading them. As they got closer, they could hear the voices of the gems and a younger Steven.

“I still can’t believe those clods fell for your lie!” Peridot yelled, cackling.

The others were saying similar things as they laughed about how ridiculous the whole thing had been.

Younger Steven joined them in laughing, relieved that they were able to get the rubies to leave.

Sadie, Lars, and Steven crept closer. Steven still wasn’t sure how to reveal themselves without causing the gems to go on the defensive. Especially since they had just gotten rid of gems they saw as enemies. Would the gems think they were a trick? Sent just as they were letting their guard down? Had Garnet seen them as a possibility? At this point, the three of them had made their way around to a side of the barn where they would be unnoticed by the others. Steven stood, frozen as his thoughts continued to spiral through possibilities of how this could go horribly wrong.

Lars saw Steven freaking out and nudged him, “Come on, it’s your family, right? They shouldn’t react… _too_ badly… right?” Lars said, trying to smile reassuringly at Steven. He started strong, but even he was a little nervous about how this would go. The gems were kind of intense and not well versed in how to interact with humans during this time. He could remember _that_ clearly from his few interactions and what the cool kids told him about their interactions.

Steven glanced at Lars and saw his strained smile. He tried to smile back but it came out as more of a grimace. Honestly, when looking back at his time with the gems, they were more of an attack first and ask questions later kind of group. In all the interactions they had with something or someone that _could_ be a threat, they acted with hostility. He could better understand why they acted that way now that he was older. They were paranoid and trying to stay hidden in plain sight, but that wouldn’t help them right now.

“Would it be easier if I headed over first? I look more like my old self than either of you. I could explain some of it before you guys come out.” Sadie told Steven.

Steven thought about it for a minute and then shook his head. “That sounds like a great plan, but there is still a chance you could get hurt if they suspect you’re lying. I don’t want to take that risk.” He explained to her.

Sadie frowned but understood his reasoning. “So, what’s the plan then?” she asked.

Steven stared ahead before taking a step forward and looking back at the two, “We just… walk up?” Steven said, ending his statement in a question.

Lars and Sadie stared at him and then at each other. “Okay, man. Let’s do this.” Lars said.

The three of them walked towards the group, trying to act calmer and more confident than they felt. Lars was just hoping this wouldn’t end badly.

As they got closer, the past gems and Steven paused their conversation to look at the three of them approaching. There was confusion and shock written on their faces and then suspicion.

The three crystal gems took defensive positions as Pearl hid past Steven behind her. Lapis straightened up but otherwise didn’t move while Peridot looked freaked out and hid behind Amethyst.

Steven put his hands up to show he meant no harm and the two humans behind him copied his movements. He could almost see Garnet looking into the future trying to figure out the outcomes of this meeting. He hoped if they walked slow enough that she might be able to speak up before anything bad had a chance to happen.

They stopped a good distance away from the past group; close enough to be able to speak to them without yelling, but far enough away so they can’t attack each other.

Pearl stared at them with wide eyes, “What- What is this?” she asked, although she didn’t know who she was asking. “Garnet!” she yelled out, already feeling herself panicking. She moved her head to look at the other gem but made sure to keep her weapon pointing at the newcomers. She wanted to know why there seemed to be an older Steven in front of them with the two humans from the donut shop. Why did the humans look different?

When Garnet didn’t answer, Pearl turned to look at Amethyst, “Please tell me this is some sort of prank?” she asked her.

Amethyst had been looking at the newcomers with shock and turned her head to look at Pearl. She shook her head, eyes wide. “Nah, man. This… Ugh, I don’t even know. This is weird. Kinda reminds me of that hourglass thingy though.” She said before focusing her attention back on the older looking Steven and weird humans.

Pearl narrowed her eyes and looked back at the younger Steven, “Steven?” she asked not knowing if she should be more concerned for his wellbeing or upset that he might have been messing with more gem tech.

“Wha- No, I haven’t seen anything like that since then.” Past Steven said, shaking his head. He was curious though. The Lars in front of them was pink! And he looked like a pirate! And Sadie, she looked older and cooler! And then there was the person who looked like him. He looked like how Steven wished he had looked when he was trying to be older on his birthday. That jacket was super cool!

“Garnet. Please?” Pearl asked again as she turned to face the three once more. They hadn’t moved and didn’t seem to be hostile, but this could be a trap too. They needed Garnet’s future vision.

Sadie and Lars continued to follow Steven’s actions, although Sadie was getting tired of holding her hands up. She finally slowly put them down but almost put them back up when it made the past gems tense up and follow her movement. Steven turned his head just enough to see her and nodded, letting her know it was fine. Sadie gave a small smile and made sure not to move much more. Steven turned once again to face the younger version of his family. He was hoping if they all kept at a standstill, Garnet could come in and help. The last thing he wanted to do was to have to run away or even fight his family while Garnet looked to see if they were actually a threat.

Finally, Garnet moved and took off her glasses to look at the three of them. She hadn’t been able to see everything, some of it was fuzzy, but she had been able to see that they were telling the truth about being from the future. She moved forward and put a hand out in front of the gems, “Relax, they aren’t here to hurt us. Let them explain.” Garnet told them.

Pearl and Amethyst looked at Garnet and let their weapons disappear. Lapis didn’t move much, but she relaxed slightly. She was still ready to act if things didn’t turn out the way Garnet thought it would. Peridot came out of hiding, looking at the three curiously now. Past Steven wanted to come out and look at the three more closely, but Pearl was still hesitant. He finally squeezed himself past her and over to Garnet making Pearl whisper his name fiercely in an attempt to get him to come back, but she didn’t chase after him.

Steven sighed, relieved, and put his hands down along with Lars. “Can we move closer?” Steven asked them.

Garnet nodded, although she didn’t show it, it still shocked her to hear an older version of Steven’s voice. The other gems had more noticeable reactions but otherwise didn’t move.

The three came closer to the past gems and stopped in front of them. Steven took a deep breath, “We are from the future.” He started, “About two and a half years to be exact. We aren’t sure how though. It was a device different from the hourglass that no one has ever seen before that an enemy gem had gotten a hold of.” Steven explained to the past gems and his younger self.

The gems stared at him.

“Wait… are you saying… Are you Steven from the future then?” Amethyst asked.

Steven blushed, “Uh, yeah?”

Amethyst looked at him with wide eyes and then back at younger Steven, “Ah man, look how tall you get Steven!” she exclaimed.

Past Steven looked at his older self with stars in his eyes.

Lapis had narrowed her eyes, still suspicious. “Seems pretty convenient that you came here with a device supposedly no one has heard of.” She said bluntly.

That put a stop to any excitement or any other questions. As everyone looked at Lapis.

Lapis shrugged, “What? It’s true.”

“I blame Lars,” Sadie spoke up, raising her hand.

“What! Why me?” Lars said turning to face her.

“Really? Who was the enemy gem?” Sadie asked.

“Emerald,” Lars muttered, blushing. He had walked right into this.

“And why was she mad enough to come to Earth?” Sadie continued her questioning.

Lars looked away and muttered something too low for anyone to hear.

“What was that?” Sadie asked, teasing him.

Lars rolled his eyes, “Ugh, because I stole her ship and made fun of her.”

“ _And_?” Sadie prodded.

Lars glanced at Steven who was looking confused. Steven had thought that was the reason, but Sadie didn’t seem to think so.

Lars looked away from Steven and grumbled; running a hand through his hair. “And I may have sent a message to her about finding her in space to show off the improvements to her old ship and how she wouldn’t be able to do anything to me.” He said quietly, but everyone still heard him.

The past gems were confused as to why a human would even be in contact with a gem. When had they gone to space and why? Shouldn’t they be doing their best to stay away from other gems? Also, why was he pink?

Steven looked at him in shock. “Lars!” he said upset. “What the heck?”

“What? I didn’t think she would be stupid enough to try anything! And I figured if she tried anything to us in space, we could handle her. I was just teasing her!” Lars explained.

Steven groaned, “Lars. Most gems don’t have a sense of humor. Trust me, I would know.” Steven said exasperated as he facepalmed.

“Well, I know that now!” Lars said, feeling embarrassed as he threw his hands up in the air. Honestly, it had been pretty fun in space having Emerald chase after them while he goaded her on. When they had finally decided to leave Earth again, he had been a little eager to continue his goading and bragging. Honestly, he had sort of thought that she had given up on hunting them due to the new rules of the universe. Or, at the very least, he thought that she had probably been captured for not adhering to the new rules. After all, she hadn’t come looking for him on Earth the whole time they had been stationed there.

“Okay, wait. I think you need to explain some things to us.” Lapis spoke up.

“Yeah, first off, aren’t you and that girl the donut shop workers?” Amethyst asked, directing her question at Lars.

Lars and Sadie sputtered at the question before Sadie replied, “That was a long, _long_ time ago.”

“Yeah, it’s been… what? Like three years or so?” Lars asked the other two.

“Something like that,” Steven agreed. “A lot of stuff happens between your time and ours. Lars and Sadie leave the donut shop to do different things.” He explained. He was doing his best to not give a whole lot away until he knew it wouldn’t hurt anyone. Thankfully, their argument about Lars’ bad choices didn’t give away much. He was still uncomfortable thinking about why Lars ‘left’ the donut shop though.

Lars noticed Steven’s change in attitude and clapped him on the back. “Yeah, I left the donut shop to keep this one from getting into too much trouble.” He said, teasing Steven as he went to mess up his hair.

Steven blushed and ducked away from Lars. However, it was good to hear Lars not outright blaming him for what happened back then. He was happy that they had the relationship they did, even if he didn’t like what it took to get there.

“Aw, Lars! You do care!” Past Steven said squeezing his face with his hands as he stared at his future self and Lars with stars in his eyes.

Lars chuckled, “Yeah kid. Don’t get too used to this me though. You got a while to go before you get me.” Lars replied, using his thumb to point at himself. “I am a lot cooler than my old self though.” He finished, posing for the younger Steven.

Younger Steven proceeded to gleefully freak out and admire Lars who soaked it up.

“Okay, we need to move on,” Sadie said pulling Lars back over to her side causing him to yelp as he almost fell into her.

“Okay, okay. Jeesh.” Lars complained as he tugged himself away and brushed himself off. However, his smile gave away his true feelings. His time with the off colors had made him pretty good at calming others and learning how to lighten the mood when things got too heavy. As he looked around, he noticed everyone had relaxed and he nodded to himself; his job was done.

“I agree with the human,” Garnet replied.

“Sadie.” Past Steven whispered loudly to Garnet, probably only meaning for her to hear but it had been loud enough for the whole group to hear him.

Garnet nodded, “Sadie, I mean. Thank you, Steven.”

Past Steven nodded, proud to contribute.

“Right,” Steven started, “We actually came looking for you all. We were hoping that Garnet could help us figure out if our being here will affect any of our futures negatively. We kind of had a run-in with Sadie and Lars’ past selves but they don’t currently have any memory of meeting themselves. We weren’t sure if us being here would create like a different… world or something. Or if we would just change when we returned based on whatever changes we make while we are here.” Steven explained.

Pearl nodded, “I’m glad to see you’ve learned to be responsible in the future.” She said praising Steven. “That is quite the conundrum. With the hourglass, any changes made would directly change you right away. That doesn’t seem to be the case here. What do you think Garnet?” she asked.

Garnet paused once more, looking into the time stream. “It’s fuzzy, but I do see you being here affecting our futures based on what happens next. I haven’t been able to pinpoint how you get home, but none of you show signs of disappearing or changing due to any changes made while you are here. That points towards a different time stream. Meaning that anything you change here will not change your world but _will_ change our world. The moment you arrived, you created a separate path and our timelines diverged.” Garnet explained.

“Wait… does that mean… could we change things that would help you guys then? I mean, it wouldn’t do any good for us but it could help you!” Steven started excitedly.

Sadie and Lars looked at each other with concern.

“Steven…” Lars said, reaching out to him.

Steven turned around and backed away, “What? Lars, this means… If we could change this world’s future, just think!” Steven exclaimed.

“I _am_ thinking Steven. I know I was an ass to you back then, but I really like how I turned out. I mean yeah… the future is uncertain but I have the off colors! I’m getting to do things I never thought I would be able to do!” Lars told him. “Hell, I’d probably still be a miserable asshole if all that stuff never happened. You could end up changing past me for the worst, you know.” He tried explaining. It sucked at first thinking of the possibility of outliving everyone he cared about on Earth. It was part of the reason Sadie and him never actually got back together. She deserved someone to grow old with. However, he did love his life. Sure, he might get bored of it after a while, but he would deal with that then.

Steven stared at him, unbelieving. “Fine.” He said, clenching his hands into fists. “Even so, I could still change other things. I could help myself at least.” He said, gritting his teeth. He forced himself to take a deep breath and relax before he turned around to face the gems. He gave a forced smile that at least looked more like a smile this time. “I could give you guys some tips that would make a lot of things much easier to deal with!” he told them.

The gems and Past Steven had watched the interaction between Lars and Steven with concern. Pearl also looked scandalized at Lars’ vulgar vocabulary. More importantly, this was a side of Steven no one had ever seen.

It made Past Steven worried. What happened to make him that way. What kind of trouble was he going to run into that would make his future self so sure that things needed to be fixed to make his life better?

Garnet folded her arms, “I don’t know about that. Significant changes could make things worse than they were before.”

Steven looked at her with disbelief. “That can’t be true. How could me telling you what could happen be any different than your future vision?” he asked, his voice getting louder as he continued. “I could at least tell you what happened in my time and then you guys could decide if it’s worth it!”

Steven felt himself getting worked up and tried to calm down. Then he realized everyone was staring at him. “What!”

Lars cleared his throat, “Um, Steven… you’re pink again.” He said quietly.

Steven startled at Lars’ explanation as he looked down at himself. “Ugh, perfect!” he yelled. He closed his eyes and took calming breaths, the pink slowly fading away. He opened his eyes and looked down, relieved to see the pink glow was gone.

“Sorry… It’s a new ability that I’m still trying to control.” Steven mumbled, uncomfortable with his loss of control. It just reminded him of the reef all over again or trapping all his friends in that dome.

The gems looked at him with concern while younger Steven watched him nervously. He was really worried about his older self. He seemed stressed out and was acting more like the gems before he was able to help them.

Pearl looked like she wanted to ask more about what was going on with him, but Garnet got her attention and shook her head.

The awkward silence continued before Lars couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, as fun as all this is… I understand Garnet’s concern but Steven is right. Couldn’t he explain some of the bigger issues that popped up and then you guys can decide if you want to change anything? We also need to figure out how to get us back too… which will be hard since we have no idea where Emerald got the device.” Lars explained, trying to gain control of the situation.

Steven looked at him in gratitude, appreciating having someone else control the conversation for a moment.

The gems looked back at Garnet as she thought. “First, how did you come to know so much about gems and us?” Garnet asked. “We’ve spent years trying to lay low, even with Steven. Also, as far as we know, humans don’t turn pink. In fact, you look similar to Steven’s lion.” She continued.

Lars stared right back at Garnet, “To explain any of that we would have to give away events that happen in the future. Does that mean you are finally letting us tell you about the future?” he asked.

Garnet went to nod but hesitated. While she had become the leader, this kind of big decision didn’t seem right to make on her own. She turned to face the rest of the gyms and Past Steven. “Is everyone okay with learning more about the future? Steven especially.” She asked, looking down at Past Steven.

The younger Steven startled and looked unsure. He had been excited to learn about the future and his cooler and older looking self. However, the episode his older self just had made him wonder if he wanted to know at all. But, if he knew, maybe he could be better off than his older self? Maybe he wouldn’t end up looking so sad and stressed out? He wondered if that’s what his older self was talking about when he said he wanted to fix things. Would fixing these things make him happier in the future? After thinking for a moment, Past Steven nodded his head. He was determined to make the future better.

The other gems thought on it, but they all ended up agreeing. It was a tantalizing prospect to know your future. Garnet could understand the interest. After all, knowing the future possibilities usually brought her comfort and a sense of control.

“Alright then,” Lars started. “Maybe we could all go sit down in the barn? I’m sure both Stevens and Sadie would like to have a place to sit. This could take a while.” He explained.

Everyone agreed and made their way to the barn.


	4. Awkward Questions are Awkward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having too much fun with the titles to these chapters lol.
> 
> I've had most of this chapter done like three days after I posted the last chapter. However, there were a few more things I wanted to add and I FINALLY got a chance to add them XD.
> 
> So, here ya go! Now, I'm off to work on the other story :)

Everyone walked into the barn and Lars searched around until he found some seats for the humans. He found an old camping chair and a couple of beanbag chairs. He handed the chair to Sadie and threw a beanbag chair at younger Steven when he excitedly started begging for one of them.

Peridot groaned as Lars rummaged through the junk pile, muttering something about her ideas for meep morps being disturbed. She had thought of an idea of how to show her feelings by making objects that represent events or emotions. She has been excited to share it with Lapis. She thought that maybe it would help them become friends. However, she didn’t yell at him to stop since she understood that humans, being weaker than gems, needed to rest their frail bodies. She told the group so to show how understanding she was about humans and how she had taken the time to learn about them. She just received weird looks at her proclamation which had her pouting off to the side.

Lapis was thoroughly amused by the whole interaction.

Lars offered a beanbag chair to Steven but he refused. He was too anxious about the upcoming talk and didn’t think he could sit for too long.

Lars shrugged and threw it back. He had thought about sitting in it for a minute but knew he was a little too tall to fit comfortably in the beanbag chair he found. Instead, he chose to stand near Steven as possible moral support.

The gems, of course, decided to stand and waited impatiently for the humans to get comfortable. They were also anxious to hear about their futures.

Before Steven could even start or say anything, Amethyst spoke up, “Okay, so… first question. Why is donut boy pink? I’m pretty sure all the times I went with Steven to get donuts he was never that color.”

Pearl glared at Amethyst for being rude but allowed the question; she was curious as well. It might answer some other questions they had about the male human.

Past Steven nodded as well, “Yeah… it’s definitely not normal for human skin to change colors… right?” he asked Steven.

Lars put his hand on Steven’s shoulder, “I can handle this question.” He told him and turned to face the gems and Past Steven. “Yeah, so… I died and Steven brought me back to life with his healing tears.” Lars told them.

A shocked laughed escaped Steven as he looked incredulously at Lars, “Well, that is the really short version.” He told him. He sighed and rubbed his face, thinking of how to explain Lars’ appearance. Then, he thought of Lion. “We think that is what Rose did to Lion. You do have Lion already, right? That’s not different or anything?” Steven asked.

Younger Steven sat up straight and smiled, “Yeah! He’s so cool!” he exclaimed. He wanted to say more but understood that they needed to be serious right now. He could brag about Lion later.

Steven nodded and got ready to explain in more detail since Lars wanted to skip as many details as possible. “Yeah… so… Let’s just say we end up having contact with Homeworld. Lars and I got stuck there and Lars died saving me and some other gems we found down below in the old kindergartens there.” He began to explain.

The gems startled, surprised. Lapis looked concerned because she knew what Homeworld was like now. Peridot was intrigued.

Pearl looked like she wanted to interrupt. She was concerned about why Steven would be on Homeworld. _Why_ was he by himself with a human? Where was she and the rest of the gems at? Did… did he find out the truth? Did the other gems know the truth in the future?

Steven continued before anyone could say anything. “I discovered that, like Lion, I could go through Lars’ hair. I’m able to travel back and forth between Lion and Lars, so I was able to go back home back then. Lars and the off colors, the gems we found, decided to escape Homeworld together and make it back to Earth on a spaceship. That’s when his rivalry with Emerald started.” He finished.

Amethyst stared at Lars, “Whoa, dude. That’s freaking epic!” she told him excitedly. Who knew a human could be so cool? She had so much more she wanted to ask, but Garnet held out a hand and shook her head.

“So, Lars knows Emerald due to his run-ins with her in space?” Garnet asked them.

Steven looked at Lars who looked back embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Eh… we may have stolen her favorite space ship?” Lars started to explain but it ended in a question. “Not that I knew it was her favorite at the time!” Lars blurted out, holding out his hands. He hurried to explain when he notices Pearl’s disapproving glare directed at him. He interrupted her class once and let’s just say no one wanted to be at the other end of that glare.

“But well, she followed us. She convinced her superiors that she could capture us and bring us back for a trial, but it was really just so no one else would damage her ship. Once I found out why she was coming after us… well… she was fun to tease and it made it easier to escape when she was flustered or mad. Plus, it helped that she wouldn’t attack the ship in a way that would damage it beyond repair.” Lars finished and sighed when Pearl’s glare disappeared.

Steven, once he realized where Lars’ urgency came from, smirked at him and had to cough to cover his laugh while Lars glared at him.

Sadie noticed the exchange and turned to Lars, elbowing him. “ _You’ll have to explain that later.” _She whispered to him.

Pearl looked at the human in surprise. She couldn’t believe someone like him was capable of what he just explained. She’d dealt with his current version a few times when Steven convinced her to go with him to that silly donut shop. He was an unpleasant and selfish human. Obviously, something had changed… maybe that time spent on Homeworld? After all, Steven did say that the human died protecting him. Plus, she knew better than anyone that humans and gems alike could change over time.

“Dude, donut boy gets cool in the future! What about you, donut girl? Any exciting adventures?” Amethyst asked. She wanted to know if all the humans became this interesting in the future.

Sadie blushed; she had liked being able to go unnoticed so far. Not that this wasn’t interesting, but it was out of her comfort zone; even with all the changes she had made between this time and the future. “Ah, well not really. Not like Steven or Lars anyway. They both have been going in and out of space. I was the lead singer in a band with some others… We recently broke up though and I’m starting a new band with someone named Shep; we’re dating. Actually, Steven’s dad is going to be our manager when we go on tour soon!” she explained. She got excited at the end with her explanation. It would be her first official tour. Her and the cool kids did a few shows around the state, but this was going to be an actual tour.

“Oh, wow. Still pretty cool you have a band and you’re going on tour.” Amethyst said, still impressed but not as impressed as she was with donut boy.

“Wait! Why is Steven still going into space?” Pearl asked, zeroing in on that comment.

Sadie blushed and mouthed sorry to Steven when he turned his panicked gaze to her.

“Er, well… Lots of things have happened… Um…” Steven tried to explain, flustered.

“Oh! Oh! Do you go and fight bad guys? Save more gems?” Younger Steven asked, excitedly.

“Uh, not exactly. Kinda?” Steven tried to answer. This was uncomfortable… “I know we agreed to tell you about the future, but… you guys didn’t handle this bit very well…” Steven explained, looking at his past family and his younger self. He shifted in place, anxious on how to explain this part.

The gems looked at each other while Pearl’s face increasingly became more worried as she thought about possibilities. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and blurt out, “Would I happen to know this secret that you are worried about telling us?” Pearl asked.

Steven glanced at her and looked down. “Um, yeah. It was actually you who originally figured out a way to tell me.” Steven explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Garnet and Amethyst looked confused at the explanation. Garnet looked between Steven and Pearl, frowning. “My visions tell me that you admitting this secret has a high chance of splitting me up. There are a few futures where I stay together, but many more show me falling apart… Is there a way to skip around this secret for now?” Garnet explained.

Amethyst whipped her head around to look at Garnet. It took something big to split Garnet up. Like Homeworld/Diamond big. She glanced back at Steven, noticing his worried reaction and the two humans’ fidgeting.

Steven ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. It was enough to split you up in the future and it was very stressful. However, I don’t know a really good way to tell you a lot about the future without revealing this secret. I can tell you the events leading up to it, but many things in my future right now have changed due to this secret.” Steven explained, thinking to himself. He was trying to figure out what to do. They needed to know more about his current future; not just the next half-year or so.

As they were all trying to figure out what to do, a car pulling up to the barn was heard.

“Um, I don’t remember anyone coming to the barn after this event. Were you guys expecting dad or something?” Steven asked them as they heard the car park outside.

“No, we didn’t even know we would be here this long with the whole Ruby stuff.” Younger Steven explained. He ran over to the entrance, ignoring Pearl’s concerned shouts.

Younger Steven glanced out and beamed. “Oh, Sadie! Hi!” He yelled to her, waving as she got out of the care. He turned back to the others. “You guys, it’s just Sadie. Well, past Sadie. How cool is that?” he asked happily. “I told her to come and visit today if she had the chance, but she said she wouldn’t be able to make it here after work. But then we stayed later than we thought due to this!” he said excitedly with stars in his eyes, rushing his explanation. He loved it when one of his friends could hang out with him and the gems.

Steven frowned. It wasn’t like he had any issues with her visiting, but she didn’t take him up on his offer last time. Maybe she did this time because of them being here?

Younger Sadie ran in and paused, trying to catch her breath. “Oh, thank God you guys are still here.” She said, gulping down air as she tried to talk while still out of breath. She straightened up after a moment. “Lars left!” she exclaimed with a nervous look on her face. “When I went back inside the store, he had been mumbling about what happened, but he was acting normal. Well, normal for him. He snuck into the back, again normal, but when I went to tell him it was time to clock out, he was gone! I don’t know where he went, but I have a bad feeling it has something to do with you.” she explained, pointing her finger at Lars.

“Wait, you guys met your past selves?” Pearl asked disapprovingly.

Lars rolled his eyes. “Yeah, back when we were figuring out what year we were in. Not like we did it on purpose.” He told the gems.

Steven scoffed. “Yeah well, you guys originally wanted to meet your past selves.” He said.

Lars blushed and coughed. “Let’s move on from that.” He said quickly.

Sadie snickered at Lars before schooling her expression. She thought for a moment, “If past Lars… er, Younger Lars?” she started, trying to think of what to call the other Lars.

“Oh, oh! We could call your Lars, Pink Lars! Then, our Lars can just be Lars.” Younger Steven recommended.

Sadie snorted and looked at Lars who shrugged.

“Yeah, sure. Why not.” Lars said, shrugging.

“Okay then. If Lars is still hung up on Pink Lars being… well Pink and from the future. Maybe he went to your house?” She asked Younger Steven and the gems.

Garnet nodded, “My future vision says that is the most likely place he’ll be.” She agreed.

“I’m so sorry guys. I really thought he wouldn’t want to be involved at all.” Younger Sadie told them, frowning.

“No, you’re good.” Pink Lars started to explain, “I thought my past self had let it go too. I had a hard time dealing with all the gem stuff back then. I figured the most likely path I’d take would be to ignore it all together like I used to do. We were all wrong.” He explained.

“Wow, I don’t think I can ever get used to a Lars who can admit when he’s wrong.” Younger Sadie teases.

Pink Lars blushes at the tease, “Yeah… well! I’ve… grown-up…” he starts strong before muttering the last sentence. He rubs the back of his neck, a little embarrassed by how he used to act. He had been very self-conscious back then about everything which translated into him being a massive dick to people.

“Okay… so we go back home then?” Younger Steven asked.

“Yes, before Lars hurts himself,” Garnet answered Younger Steven’s question.

“What?” Pink Lars exclaimed, “How would my younger self get hurt?” Pink Lars asked alarmed.

“You don’t want to know… or find out. Let’s head out.” Garnet told them, before walking towards the nearest warp pad. Everyone else ran to catch up to her; startled by her fast gait as she walked with urgency.

They ended up having to take two separate trips. The gems and Younger Steven went first while those from the future and Younger Sadie followed after them.

Steven just hoped this wouldn’t end in disaster.


	5. Questions that Lead to Disaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap... I didn't realize that the last time I updated this was back in July... Sorry, everyone XD.
> 
> I'll admit this chapter has not been reread as many times as I normally do. I wanted to get it out before my break ends so I can work on an update for my other story too. I hope you enjoy :).

The gems and Younger Steven landed inside the house.

Younger Steven turned to Peridot and Lapis and grinned, “Thanks for coming with us, guys.” He said, happy that they seemed to be getting along better now.

“Well, I _am_ a Peridot and this whole time travel business is very interesting,” Peridot told Steven, blushing. That was only part of the reason she came along. She did feel a certain responsibility to the group now. However, she still wasn’t used to all these new feelings she had about the others. Plus, she wanted to show off to Lapis how brave she was.

Lapis just shrugged. “What else am I going to do right now.” She told him.

Everyone moved off the warp pad to make room as the future group and younger Sadie warped in.

As they all made their way into the living room area, they saw Lars coming down from the landing where Steven’s room was. He was holding a hammer in his hand. He paused when he saw everyone looking at him and quickly hid the hammer behind his back.

“Uh… Lars, what are you doing?” Younger Sadie asked him.

Lars’ face turned a dark red as he looked away. “Nothing…” he mumbled.

“Come on, man. That’s weak and I would know because I’m you.” Pink Lars told him, scoffing. Was he really this dumb when he was younger?

Lars’ face continued to look flushed as he scowled at his future self. “Whatever man. Obviously, I’m a loser in the future. Who the fuck would dye themselves pink? Did Steven put you up to it? Did I lose all self-respect in the future?” Lars bit out, rolling his eyes.

“Dude, not cool Lars.” Younger Sadie exclaimed. Pearl had let out a strangled gasp at the language while Younger Steven’s eyes went wide.

Pink Lars frowned. “Nah, it’s cool. I forgot how embarrassing I was at this age where I thought pushing everyone away was better than just being myself.”

Lars gripped the hammer behind himself in anger. He gritted his teeth.

Everyone watched the exchange with growing concern, especially both Stevens.

“Okay, okay, let's calm down,” Steven said, putting his hands up and getting in between the two Lars.

Pink Lars hadn’t realized it but he had slowly been getting closer and closer to his past self. Part of him wanted to shake some sense into his younger self. He couldn’t believe Sadie had actually liked him while he was like this. He could barely stand his past self!

“Ohhh, look! Here comes Steven, saving the day like always.” Lars said sarcastically, waving his hands as he didn’t even try to hide the hammer anymore. “Still can’t seem to mind your own business huh? Not surprised that hasn’t changed.” He finished, throwing the hammer onto the couch which bounced onto the ground.

Everyone let out shocked gasps or shouts at the words and action. Garnet took a hesitant step forward; her future vision was giving her too many options and she couldn’t settle on the likeliest outcome.

Steven turned to glare at Lars which had him tensing up. Lars had never seen that type of expression on Steven’s face before.

Steven looked away and sighed, bringing his hands up to massage his temples. “Listen, can we all sit and act like civilized beings?” he asked.

Lars was still pale, but he managed to scoff and shrug, “Yeah, whatever.” He said and sat down on the stairs.

Younger Sadie rolled her eyes and sighed, before going to keep Lars company on the stairs and hopefully control him in case he went crazy again.

The gems and Younger Steven sat on the couch. Peridot was also able to fit but Lapis chose to stand in case she needed to escape later. Both Pink Lars and Steven stood in front of them all while Sadie dragged over a stool to sit next to them.

Steven stood there thinking. It felt like things were getting overly complicated now. He wasn’t sure how to share information to hopefully make a better future. He didn’t want Garnet to split up this early because it would ruin the moment they got back together and had their wedding. Bismuth wasn’t back yet and the relationships of the future were not in place yet.

Steven sighed and looked over everyone before focusing on Lars, “You are free to stay here with us if you are willing to listen to what we have to say. Otherwise, you can go.” He told him with no room for argument.

Lars stilled, looking at Steven. It was almost uncomfortable to see any version of Steven look so serious. Lars stiffly nodded his head before looking away.

Steven nodded back before focusing on everyone, “Look, I’m not really sure how to explain anything. Most of the future includes knowing the secret but… You guys don’t all have the relationships with each other that you have in the future. Plus, I’m afraid this will ruin one of the few good things that happen in the future.” Steven told them, shifting in place and folding his arms.

The gems all glanced at each other while Younger Steven stared at his older self with concern. Lars and Sadie both frowned and glanced at each other. Was it just because he was a teenager because they were both pretty sure that being depressing was Lars’ thing.

Garnet sighed; her future vision wasn’t being very helpful at the moment. Too many possibilities and unknowns were making it hard for one path to take precedence over the others. “Do you think it would help if I left for the reveal and came back after?” she asked.

The other gems looked at her in concern and then back at Steven.

He sighed, thinking. “I’m not sure… Pearl already knows the secret and Amethyst… Well…. At the time she took it alright but was more concerned with how I took it…. Lapis…” he started and paused, looking at her.

Lapis looked back, folding in on herself. She was a little uncomfortable. She knew this was still Steven but it wasn’t _her_ Steven. This whole experience made her unsettled.

Steven sent her a small smile, “Lapis… didn’t take it well… She comes back when it matters but…” he groaned, rubbing his temples. “Why is this so complicated!” he complained.

Pink Lars smiled at him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s complicated because you want to improve some things while keeping others the same, but just by being here and changing anything… well, it could all change for the better or for the worst.” He told Steven.

Steven shook his head and laughed, “Wow, I didn’t realize space made you so deep.” Steven teased. He was glad for the advice though. Anything he tried to change right now could make things better or worse. He wanted his past self to have a better life but what if by trying to change it he made it worse? What if it was okay to change their reactions now because they would be stronger in the future when everything else happens?

“Okay, how about we start small while I think about it?” he asked them all.

The gems nodded their heads along with Steven and the humans.

“Okay, anyone have any questions?” he asked them.

“Oh! Oh! I have one!” Younger Steven shouted as he jumped up and down waving his hand.

Steven snorted, “Steven.” He said gesturing towards his younger self.

“Do I ever get to fuse with a gem?” he asked, stars in his eyes as he thought about the possibility. He loved fusing with Connie but he was still disappointed he didn’t get to share that experience with any of the gems.

Steven smiled; he was actually excited about sharing this answer. Mostly because he knew what his younger self was thinking. “Yep!” he told his younger self and glanced at the other gems who all perked up at his answer.

“Hmm, I wonder if I should share who…” he continued, teasing them all now.

Pink Lars smirked. He was glad Steven was enjoying himself enough to tease the others. He definitely felt like Steven had a lot going on lately and he had felt bad that he wasn’t really around to get to the bottom of it. He had been busy with the gems and his store. He figured Steven’s family would have it handled but it didn’t seem like it based on Steven’s behavior on this trip.

Garnet straightened up and stared Steven down. “I think it would be… _very_ important to share this information with us. To… prepare ourselves. Right Pearl?” she said. She was excited, but fusion, in general, was very important to her. She honestly did enjoy when she was able to fuse with the others but their personalities were so different that it just made sense to fuse when needed and nothing more. To be able to share that experience with her Steven though… that was exciting in a different way.

Pearl looked at Garnet and nodded, “Oh yes, very-“ she started before Younger Steven interrupted.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh pleaseeeeee!” Younger Steven exclaimed, tugging on Steven’s jacket and looking up at him with puppy eyes.

Amethyst snorted as she watched everyone’s reactions. She wouldn’t admit it but she was curious too… and hopeful.

Lapis looked uncomfortable and Peridot took notice. She looked at everyone else’s excitement and Lapis’ less than thrilled reaction. “Uhhh, we’ll be right back!” Peridot exclaimed before beckoning Lapis out the back for a moment. Even though Lapis didn’t quite trust Peridot yet, she wanted to be out of this conversation even more so she followed. She could just fly away if she needed to. Amethyst gave them a thumbs up since the rest were too excited to really notice. Younger Steven glanced at them with worry for a moment but he was really excited and turned back to Steven.

Lars and Younger Sadie were confused so Pink Lars went over to explain fusion. He was looking forward to explaining Stevonnie. At the time when he learned about Stevonnie, there had been a lot going on. When it finally hit him later and he remembered his first meeting he was extremely embarrassed for about a week. He couldn’t look either kid in the eye for a while. However, enough time had passed that he was ready to enjoy his past self and Sadie’s reaction to Stevonnie now.

Sadie watched Pink Lars go to explain and was glad she didn’t have to go. It had definitely been long enough to get over being embarrassed but she wasn’t looking to relive it any time soon. She did owe it to Stevonnie for making her curious enough to explore after she got over Lars.

Steven laughed, “Okay, okay. Calm down.” He told his younger self.

Younger Steven nodded and plopped down in front of Steven. Steven laughed again, looking fondly at his younger self. His heart panged with regret, knowing that this version of himself wouldn’t last much longer if he didn’t change things for the better. In fact, this version of himself had already taken some hits with the whole Jasper situation. This was the beginning of the end. He mentally shook his head. ‘ _Focus Steven._ ’ He thought.

“Okay, so… my first gem fusion was…” he started, drawing it out. Now even the gems were looking at him impatiently. He smiled, “…with Amethyst.” He told them.

“What!” the gems exclaimed. Pearl and Garnet were disappointed while Amethyst looked shocked but happy.

“Aw, yeah! Take that, suckers!” she said pointing at the other two gems.

Younger Steven had been excited as well. His face almost glowing but he gasped at Amethyst’s response. “Amethyst! That’s not nice!” he exclaimed.

“What! But how?” Pearl asked as she glared at Amethyst after her response towards them.

Steven shook his head, smiling. He honestly hadn’t expected much else. “Well, actually… it’s gonna happen pretty soon.” He told them. “Well, a couple of other important things will happen first, but yeah.” He said.

“Okay, but how does it happen?” this time Amethyst was asking. She was curious. It wasn’t like she and Steven didn’t get along or anything but she thought for sure that he would fuse with Garnet or Pearl before he would with her.

Steven smiled at her, “Well, actually… I think I know what you are thinking. We actually have a lot more in common with each other than I do with Garnet and Pearl. My younger self right now is probably closer to them at this moment. We never did really get to hang out too much, but in the next few months, we do get closer and discover some things about each other that help. Actually, after my fusion with you… I don’t fuse with the other two until way later after the secret is revealed and we are in danger.” He explains.

Amethyst blushes at Steven’s explanation but she is secretly pleased. She always kind of felt left out but to know she somehow develops a stronger bond with Steven than the other two do, at least for a long time, it… helps.

Younger Steven runs over to Amethyst. “That’s so exciting!” he tells her, stars in his eyes as he jumps up and down.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” She responds, trying to act nonchalant, but she can’t stop the smile forming on her face.

Steven smiles, “Yeah, actually Pearl and Garnet got so excited that they kinda fused and tried to help us find our ‘thing’ as a fusion. It was… well… it was a bit of a disaster but it worked out in the end.” He explains.

Garnet could understand that explanation. She is pretty excited without even seeing it yet. She was happy that Steven was able to help Amethyst find joy and companionship in fusion. She had her two halves that gave her that fusion and Pearl had her fusion with Rose, although she wondered how healthy that had been for them seeing how Pearl spiraled after Rose was gone. Amethyst had never had a healthy fusion. Even though Amethyst and Garnet had fun fusing it wasn’t… very stable or healthy. Amethyst and Pearl’s fusion was good but their personalities tended to ruin the fusion eventually; they just weren’t very compatible. Then there was the fusion with the three of them or with Rose back when she was alive but those were only used to fight. To have a fusion on a deeper level where they fused out of understanding and companionship was so important and special. She was glad they had that with each other, even if she was disappointed it wasn’t with her.

Pearl’s face flushed at the thought of how they would take over Steven and Amethyst’s introduction as a fusion. She wanted to say they would never do that but they would and apparently did. It was quite exciting to know that Steven could eventually fuse with them all. She wondered…

“Okay! Next question?” Steven asked, wanting to move on. “Actually, Steven could you go get Lapis and Peridot?” he asked his younger self.

“Oh, yeah! Sure.” Younger Steven replied and went out to look for them.

Steven had noticed them leave earlier and didn’t blame them. He knew fusion was uncomfortable for the two of them and felt bad for not thinking about that in advance and letting them leave before he discussed it. He was still used to his version of the gems.

“Do we ever find a cure for the corrupted gems?” Garnet asks.

Steven sighs, “I should’ve known that would come up eventually,” he says, smiling at them. “Yes, but I can’t explain how right now.” He finishes.

The two looked relieved, “That’s fine. Just knowing that we get a chance to help them is enough.” Garnet replies, giving him a smile.

Pearl looks undecided before she clears her throat. “Um, you don’t have to answer but… does… everything work out after the secret? I mean! It sounds like everything is okay besides Lars’ issue but you haven’t really talked about what happens after the corruption is fixed. Did you need… help?” Pearl asks, stuttering out her question.

Steven frowns. He bites his lip as his hand twitches towards his gem. “It’s fine.” He forces out. He takes a deep breath, “Um… it’s still being… worked out honestly.” He explains, his voice wavering. “But yes, I couldn’t do it alone.” He tells Pearl.

“Couldn’t do what alone?” Garnet asks.

Steven shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says. He thought he was over this. Why was this happening? Why was he freaking out over what happened way in the past? He had to deal with the diamonds for _months_ , so why was he reacting this way to something he had to think about almost every day that he was with them while fixing the whole damn universe. Steven felt his chest tighten and his breathes got shorter as he clenched his fists. He tried to focus on the feeling of his nails digging into his palms.

Pink Lars had been busy laughing at his past self and Younger Sadie’s reactions but he noticed the drop in the mood. He glanced over to see Sadie looking worriedly at Steven and then looking towards him for help. He decided to let the two past humans be and walked back over to Steven and Sadie.

“Hey, you good?” he asked Steven, putting a hand on his shoulder to help ground him.

Steven shook it off and turned away. “I just- I’ll be back.” He told them all and took off out the front door.

Younger Steven came back in with Peridot and Lapis and looked around. “Um… what happened?” he asked.

The gems looked shocked as they stared at Steven’s retreating back and then looked at Pink Lars and Sadie.

“What was that?” Pearl asked, startled. Steven’s answer concerned her but she hadn’t been expecting all of that.

Garnet frowned worriedly. Her visions weren’t really helping. They couldn’t seem to keep up with what was happening. She hated being in the dark like this.

Pink Lars frowned as the front door swung close and turned back to the gems. “I don’t know. He’s been like this for a while now. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if everything that happened over the years was finally catching up to him.”

The gems looked confused. “What do you mean?” Garnet asked for them.

Pink Lars shook his head, “When something bad happens to you, do you just forget it and move on? Or does it linger and change the way you think about things?” he asked. “I’m assuming it doesn’t just go away from what I’ve seen with my crew.”

“Of course, it doesn’t go away!” Lapis responded, hugging herself.

The other gems also responded in similar ways.

“Well, the same goes for humans.” Pink Lars told them. “I know sometimes you guys can be pretty clueless but I thought at least you three would be a little more knowledgeable since you’ve been raising Steven all these years. At least a doctor should’ve said something by now unless you have a shit doctor. Which I’m guessing is the case.” He told them.

The gems looked confused. “Why would Steven need to go to a doctor?” Amethyst asked, “Isn’t that like… if a human gets sick or hurt?”

All three humans and Pink Lars looked at the gems in disbelief. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me… that Steven has never been to a doctor? Like ever?” Pink Lars asked.

Younger Steven looked confused as Pearl shook her head. “Of course not. He’s never been sick and how would we explain the gem on his stomach. We don’t even know what he’ll look like if any x-rays are taken.” She told him.

Pink Lars continued to stare them down. “Holy shit, that explains _so much_. Jesus.” He says, running a hand through his hair. “Shit, you realize doctors do more than take care of physical health, right? They deal with mental health. After all the crazy, fucked up shit Steven has been through he should’ve been seeing a doctor or _at least_ a therapist the first time his life was in danger.”

Pearl had covered Younger Steven’s ears during Pink Lars’ rant glaring at him.

Garnet frowned; she didn’t like what Pink Lars was implying. “How would we do that. No human could understand a gem and even if Steven is part human, he is also part gem.”

Pink Lars was getting angry. Not necessarily getting angry at them, but he was getting angry for Steven. No wonder the kid had problems!

Pink Lars took a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn’t help anyone. “Okay, sure humans knowing is bad and whatever. Couldn’t you at least trust Connie’s mother at this point? I’m not sure when but I know eventually she finds out about all of you and she doesn’t freak out too much from what I was told. She even eventually helps by taking x-rays of you to see how gems look and she even gets an x-ray of me to see how I changed after turning pink.”

The gems look contemplative as Younger Steven looks confused. “What does a doctor do?” he asks Pink Lars.

Pink Lars sighs but smiles at Younger Steven. He doesn’t need the kid to see how frustrated he is. “A doctor makes sure you are healthy. Just because you don’t feel hurt doesn’t mean you aren’t. They teach you coping methods and how to deal with memories that still make you anxious. Can you think of anything that has happened lately that makes you anxious, nervous, or scared?” he asked the kid.

Younger Steven bit his lip as he thinks. He glances at the gems who give him reassuring nods. He doesn’t look at Lapis or Peridot but Lapis at least looks like she gets what Pink Lars is trying to explain.

“Well…” Younger Steven starts, nervous. “Um, I kind of have bad dreams about the space ship.” He whispers out to Pink Lars. He doesn’t really want the gems to hear. He feels like if he shows how scared he is or how he feels about the experience that they won’t trust him or let him help anymore.

Pink Lars knows Younger Steven is trying to quietly tell him but he’s glad for the kid’s lack of volume control because the gems need to hear this. “How do those dreams make you feel?” he asks.

Younger Steven twists his hands together. “Bad…” he whispers. “Sometimes I dream that we didn’t escape or that we all got really hurt after escaping.” He continues, tearing up. “But I don’t want to stop helping! It feels worse when I can’t be with them to help, like-“ Younger Steven continues before coming to a stop, choking on his next words.

Pink Lars pulls the kid into a hug as he stares down the gems, his eyes literally screaming ‘ _See, what I mean!’_ at them.

The gems watch guiltily as Younger Steven cries into Pink Lars' shoulder as Pink Lars rubs his back. Lapis looks like she wants to help comfort Younger Steven but stays back. Peridot looks away, uncomfortable.

Lars also looks away. He feels like a shit person now thinking back to all the shit he put the kid through.

Eventually, Younger Steven calms down and pulls away, wiping his eyes and nose. Sadie hands him a tissue, he smiles at her and takes it to help clean his face off. “Sorry…” he mutters, embarrassed.

“Don’t be, little dude. Trust me when I say we have all been there… or at least most of us.” Pink Lars tells him.

Younger Steven turns to the gems, “Please don’t kick me out!” he begs them, “I can handle it! I promise.” He says, rubbing his face and sniffling.

“Steven!” Garnet exclaims kneeling down and grabbing his face with her hands. “Why would we ever do that?” she asks.

Pearl and Amethyst quietly panic in the background, unsure of how to deal with this.

Younger Steven stares at Garnet, unsure. “Because… you’ll think I’m a weak human that can’t handle gem stuff?” he asks.

“Steven.” Garnet starts firmly, “How many times have you seen us panic, lose our cool, or cry?”

“Well-but- that’s different!” he exclaims.

“How?” Garnet asks.

Younger Steven shakes his head, “I don’t know but it is!”

Garnet hugs him, “No, it isn’t. I’m sorry if we ever made it seem like you have to be stronger than us to stay and help us.” She tells him.

Younger Steven’s hands grab onto her shoulders as he hugs her back. Pearl and Amethyst hesitantly walk over and join the hug, turning it into a group hug.

Eventually, they all pull away and Younger Steven smiles, “Thanks…” he says quietly.

“Steven, please let us know if you ever feel like this again or you need to talk. Maybe we can… even look into having Connie’s mother see you.” Pearl tells him, glancing at Pink Lars who nods in approval.

Younger Steven nods his head, even though he isn’t sure. What if the next time he needs to talk the gems are fighting with each other again? Or one of them is upset about something? What if he bugs them too much and they decide he isn’t ready to help after all? He’s also not sure about bothering Connie’s mom either but he lets it go for now.

“Well, this is going great.” Pink Lars adds, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone laughs quietly as the tension finally leaves the room.

“So… who’s going after future Steven?” Amethyst asks.

Pink Lars goes to speak up but Younger Steven beats him to it. “I can do it!” he tells them. “Please…”

The gems look at Younger Steven, not wanting to disagree after he aired his insecurities.

Pink Lars puts a hand on Younger Steven’s shoulders. “Let’s go together.” He tells the kid. He starts steering Younger Steven out the door before he can complain or argue.

Younger Steven looks too shocked to say anything against him anyway.

After the two leave, silence envelops the room. No one quite knows what to say after all of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... not sure what happened towards the end. It got kinda sad and angsty for a moment... Really not planned but the characters have a mind of their own sometimes.


End file.
